Smart Cap ‘Timesulin’ Offers Major Advance in Diabetes Compliance

Innovative solution shows insulin-dependent patients how long it’s been since their last injection to help improve quality of life with diabetes

London, February 2013: Timesulin, an innovative replacement cap for insulin pens from Patients Pending Ltd., seamlessly transforms all major insulin pens into a smart pen to show how long it’s been since the last insulin injection, helping users avoid accidental double or missed insulin doses. This innovative solution represents a major step forward for people using insulin to treat their diabetes - of whom up to a third inadvertently skip doses or otherwise fail to take their diabetes medication as prescribed. Timesulin offers the first real improvement for traditional insulin pens since their release more than 25 years ago.

With the International Diabetes Federation now estimating the global number of people living with diabetes at 366 million - twice as many as 30 years ago - the market for innovation in diabetes management is wide open, and not many manage to succeed in this competitive field.

This is why Timesulin has already generated excitement amongst established names in the diabetes field in Europe, including Dr Åke Sjöholm, Chief of the Diabetes Research Unit at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. "Due to the habitual nature of insulin administration patients often forget whether or not they had injected their insulin dose," Dr Sjöholm notes. "We regard this as a major challenge in managing diabetes and welcome the timely arrival of an innovative solution like Timesulin."

The smart cap, which seamlessly integrates into the daily treatment plan for those living with diabetes, helps avoid missed or accidental double injections and the accompanying hyper- or hypoglycemic (high or low blood sugar levels) events that can cause daily anxiety - and potentially life-threatening scenarios.

At least one recent study, the 2011 report from pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk, confirms the extent of the problem with missed injections or overdosing. This report, titled the Global Attitudes of Patients and Physicians in Insulin Therapy (GAPP), shows that patients failed to take their insulin as prescribed on average three times in the last month, with 77% of physicians estimating that in reality the number could be as high as six doses per month.

When an insulin-dependent person takes an accidental double dose, the consequences can range from mild to dire. Their blood sugar levels will plummet, bringing on a hypoglycemic event which may cause irritability, confusion, dizziness, perspiration, a feeling of weakness, rapid heartbeat, blurred vision and in extreme cases temporary loss of consciousness, convulsions, coma and even death. Accidentally missing a required insulin dose will lead to hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar, which may cause headaches, frequent urination, skin infections, decreased vision, nerve damage, erectile dysfunction, kidney damage, neurological damage, cardiovascular damage, damage to the feet and legs, a coma and even death. Both hyper- and hypoglycemic events have secondary effects on both the person with diabetes as well as the greater society including unnecessary medical expenses and doctors’ visits and anxiety to the family and friends of the person enduring these symptoms.

Timesulin co-founder and CEO, London-based John Sjölund says, "As someone who developed Type 1 diabetes at age three, Timesulin is the solution I’ve always been searching for. A person who doesn’t live with diabetes will wonder how it’s possible to forget when or whether you’ve given yourself an injection, but given the busy lives we all lead, keeping track of the four-times-a-day ritual can be difficult for anyone living with a chronic condition. It’s like trying to remember if you turned the stove off. We all worry about it sometimes, but when there’s medication involved, it causes real anxiety. That’s why Timesulin offers the perfect solution for people living with diabetes - as well as those near and dear to them."

So how does it work? Timesulin replaces the original cap that an insulin pen is issued with and starts a timer upon replacement of the cap that continues to count up, showing the time passed since the last injection was administered. It offers access to a simple fact that helps to answer the question of ‘Did I, or didn’t I just inject’ – particularly helpful in busy or stressful times where users tend to go on ‘autopilot’. And this simplicity cannot be underestimated. Timesulin does not need to be programmed and is simple to understand, erasing the barrier that would exclude users that are not particularly tech-savvy, thus ensuring that compliance among users remains high, even months after first incorporating it into their treatment program.

The brand’s consumer launch across Europe in February 2012 generated considerable enthusiasm in the diabetes treatment community. "In my experience as a nurse consultant in diabetes, the problem of forgetting whether or not the very important insulin injection has been administered is a prominent one," said Grace Vanterpool, a London-based diabetes nurse consultant and MBE at the Hammersmith and Fulham PCT and Imperial Health Care Trust. "What I like best about Timesulin is that it addresses this huge problem head-on with an easy-to-use solution that requires no programming or change in habit."

Helena Farrell, diabetes nurse and founder of the Diabetes Insight Center in Cork, Ireland, also cites the simplicity that Timesulin offers. "Any modernisation or product that is simple to use and offers people with diabetes a better quality of life is welcome," Farrell notes. "This is a product that’s badly needed by a great number of people, including many that I treat, and I commend the Timesulin team for bringing it to market."

Today Timesulin is sold in over 40 countries across the globe. It carries the CE mark, works with all major insulin pens, requires no change in habit and works straight out of the package without any programming required. For additional information, or to purchase Timesulin caps, please visit www.timesulin.com.

Issued by:

• Susan Moolman
• Communications Director, Patients Pending Ltd.
• Email: susan@timesulin.com